discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6438311
CITATIONS READS
160 752
5 authors, including:
W. B. Traill
University of Reading
88 PUBLICATIONS 2,016 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
All content following this page was uploaded by Kate Harvey on 18 March 2014.
PII: S0195-6663(07)00019-0
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.appet.2007.02.003
Reference: APPET 430 www.elsevier.com/locate/appet
Cite this article as: Stephanie Chambers, Alexandra Lobb, Laurie Butler, Kate Harvey and
W. Bruce Traill, Local, national and imported foods: A qualitative study, Appetite (2007),
doi:10.1016/j.appet.2007.02.003
This is a PDF le of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As
a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The
manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting galley proof
before it is published in its nal citable form. Please note that during the production process
errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply
to the journal pertain.
Local, national and imported foods: a
qualitative study
p t
ri
bDepartment of Psychology, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Reading, U.K.,
RG6 6AL
s c
n u
*Corresponding author
s.a.chambers@reading.ac.uk (Stephanie Chambers) a
not for publication: m
Tel: 44 (0)118 378 7702
Fax: 44 (0) 118 975 6467
e d
p t
c e
A c
Abstract
locally produced food. It is hoped that this will provide economic, environmental and
This qualitative study looks at the views and behaviour of consumers towards local
foods with a particular focus on the barriers that prevent greater uptake of local
produce. In total, four focus groups (n=33) were conducted. Content analysis
identified six relevant themes in relation to local, national and imported foods. These
were cost, lifestyle, food quality, consumer ethnocentrism, choice and farmers.
p t
i
Overall, although participants reported buying few local products currently, there was
r
s c
widespread enthusiasm across socio-economic groups for local foods, with
participants perceiving them as being of a higher quality than imported foods. They
n u
also generally endorsed the idea of supporting local farmers and their own national
a
economy. The main barriers preventing participants from buying more local products
m
were price and inconvenience. The results are discussed in relation to developing
e d
future strategies for encouraging people to buy more local food products.
p t
e
Key Words: Local foods, qualitative, focus group, rural economy, food choice
c
A c
Introduction
In the UK, much of the food that we buy is sold in supermarkets rather than through
small local retailers, or outlets such as farmers markets. Although supermarkets are
selling an increasing amount of local foods, the majority of their products continue to
products currently account for a very small share of the food and drink market in the
UK, with only 6% of all food sales produced regionally (Defra, 2003).
t
In recent years the UK Government has begun to promote direct sales at the local
p
i
level in response to EU commitment to develop a ten-year plan for sustainable
r
s c
consumption (Policy Commission on Farming and Food, 2002). Defra (2005)
believes that food consumed closer to its point of production has the potential to
n u
provide economic, environmental and social benefits in relation to sustainable
a
consumption at the local level. Encouragingly, previous research has revealed that
m
consumers are generally positive about locally produced foods. For example,
e d
consumers feel that by buying local produce they are purchasing products that are
t
more authentic and higher quality (Lee, 2000; Boyle, 2003), as well as fresher (La
p
e
Trobe, 2001), more nutritious, tasty and safe (Seyfang, 2004). Furthermore, a New
c
A c
Economics Foundation poll (2003) found that 52% of respondents with a preference
wanted to purchase locally grown food, whilst another 45% would prefer their food to
be grown in the UK. However, there is currently little information regarding the
perceived and actual barriers that prevent consumers from buying more local foods.
Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate consumer perceptions and behaviour
Weatherell et al (2003) reported that those living in rural areas were more aware and
Method
local, national and imported foods, a qualitative focus group approach was adopted
t
here. Focus groups are particularly suited to understanding complex behaviours such
p
i
as food choice because they encourage participants to query and explain themselves to
r
s c
each other (Morgan & Krueger, 1993). Thus, they will allow us to explore not only
what consumers prefer, but also the reasons for their preferences, and any difficulties
n u
that they report in achieving their goals. The interactions during the focus groups will
a
also provide valuable data on the extent of consensus and diversity of opinions among
the participants. m
e d
Recruitment
p t
e
Four focus groups were held at the University of Reading in June 2005, with a total of
c
A c
33 participants. Two focus groups were conducted in the afternoon, and two in the
evening to ensure people working during the day were represented. The local ethics
committee for the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development granted ethical
research company based on the University of Reading campus and previously used by
the authors. Recruitment was carried out via telephone from a household database
belonging to the market research company and from local newspaper advertisements.
Therefore, respondents were residents living in Reading and its surrounding areas,
information, including gender, age, occupation, number of children, and whether they
Each group was differentiated by socio-economic status (SES) based upon the Market
Research Societys social grades, and was dependent upon the occupation of the chief
t
income earner in the household. Two groups comprised participants of lower SES,
p
i
and two comprised participants with higher SES. Participants in lower SES groups
r
s c
were those where the chief income earners occupation could be classed as belonging
to categories C2, D or E: participants in higher SES groups were those where the chief
n u
income earners occupation could be classed as belonging to categories A, B or C1.
a
There was an attempt to balance each group with regards to the other defining
m
characteristics, as it was expected that socio-economic status would not be the only
e d
factor on which participants attitudes would vary. A cash incentive of 25 was
t
provided to each participant for his/her time and travel expenses. They were also
p
e
provided with an information sheet on the research, and were asked to sign a
c
c
declaration stating they were willing to take part in the focus group.
A
The recruitment procedure produced a gender imbalance across the groups with 22
women and 11 men. The group most significantly affected by this was Group 3,
which contained only one male participant and eight female participants. However,
given that females tend to carry out the household shopping this was not seen as
lived in a rural rather than urban area. Finally, there was representation from thirteen
50-70 year olds, as it seemed possible that their attitudes towards local foods might be
Interview Protocol
There is no formal definition of the term local foods. They have been described in
the academic and governmental literature as those foods that are grown, produced,
p t
and sold, within a single region. A general working definition, supported by this
ri
research, is thought to include products produced and sold within a 30-50 mile radius
s c
of a consumers home (Groves, 2005: La Trobe, 2001). This differs from locality
u
foods, which are grown and produced in a certain area, but distributed beyond its
n
a
boundaries (e.g., Bakewell tarts, Wenslydale cheese). This working definition was
m
used to develop the interview protocol, and coincided with the same understanding of
d
the term given by the majority of participants.
e
p t
c e
A semi-structured interview protocol was developed based primarily on a review of
the existing literature and discussions between the authors. Additional input was
A c
provided by a pilot test (n=6) which ensured that the questions were clear and
attitudes to locally produced food products, their views on the attitudes of other
people, and the extent to which they felt that they had control over what they bought.
imported foods within each group. The protocol then moved on to a range of open-
ended questions to be addressed during the course of each interview concerning
attitudes towards local, national and imported food products, as well as questions
regarding the views of friends, family and society in general towards buying local
foods. Questions that aimed to identify any barriers to buying more local foods were
Procedure
p t
interviewing style. Additional assistance was provided by a note taker, to ensure that
ri
participants could be identified during transcription. Each group lasted for
s c
approximately 90 minutes, and was tape-recorded and later transcribed. The aim of
u
the project was explained to the participants, and assurances of anonymity and
n
a
confidentiality were given. Brief introductions were made by each of the participants
m
and also the moderator. The focus group protocol was comprehensive, but fairly
d
broad in scope. This allowed participants to discuss the areas they felt most strongly
e
t
about in the greatest depth. As a useful point of reference, the moderator noted
p
discussion.
c e
participants definitions of each food type on a large sheet of paper to help guide the
A c
Data Analysis
The transcripts were analysed using thematic content analysis. The first author and a
research assistant independently coded the data. This analysis was aided by the use of
the N6 (formerly NUD*IST; QSR International, 2005) software package. One of the
main advantages of using computer packages when carrying out qualitative data
analysis is that text searches can be easily carried out. Related themes and categories
can be merged, and overlap between themes can be readily identified. For this study,
the unit of analysis was a paragraph, and a paragraph could belong to more than one
coded theme. With the help of N6, key words were identified that represented
recurring themes. Results from key word searches allowed for the identification of
paragraphs that could be coded around these themes. Once these paragraphs were
identified, they could be easily contextualised using N6s spread coding and
overlap functions. Spread coding is used after key word searches have taken
t
particular theme. This allows researchers to identify the particular context in which a
p
i
theme was discussed, rather than merely identifying the number of times a particular
r
s c
word was used in the discussion. Overlap aids the identification of relevant
paragraphs where two or more themes are discussed in the same context, for example,
t
food quality, consumer ethnocentrism, choice and farmers. There were no themes
p
e
that emerged for any one socio-economic group alone.
c
A c
At the beginning of each interview, participants were encouraged to think of
geographical definitions. This was an important ice breaking technique, and also
ensured that participants understood what was meant by each term. However, the
exercise also served to allow participants to define the parameters of the discussion
local area up to a maximum 20-50 mile radius from a participants home. National
products were defined as foods produced within the UK, including Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland. Imported foods were defined as those produced abroad. There
was some reference to locality foods those foods that are considered typical to a
certain region or area within a UK context. These included Bakewell tarts, Cornish
pasties, and Yorkshire pudding; however, participants acknowledged that these foods
need not be produced locally, and therefore, did not discuss them at length within the
t
groups. Finally, it is important to note that for this sample at least, the proportion of
p
i
local foods purchased on a regular basis was very low (generally less than 1 product
r
c
per month). Occasional local food purchases included eggs, butter and fruit.
s
Cost
n u
a
One of the most salient themes was price. Some respondents believed that local foods
m
were cheaper than national foods or imported foods.
e d
t
if you do manage to find these local places, you can buy more than you can
p
e
get at supermarkets at a relatively good price. [Male, low SES, children,
c
c
urban, 48]
A
However, in general local foods were viewed as being more expensive than national
or imported foods.
I think local foods can be quite expensive. Well go to a farmers market and
things like that, but that isnt cheap there. [Female, low SES, no children,
urban, 67]
The local farm markets seem to be a lot dearer than if you were to go to the
supermarket and buy the stuff. [Male, high SES, children, urban, 37]
t
between, I think locally is expensive. But Ive never compared them. [Female,
p
high SES, no children, urban, 59]
ri
s c
National foods were generally equated with those products sold in the supermarkets,
n u
and were, therefore, generally thought to be cheaper. The same was true of imported
a
products. The previous quotation suggests that attitudes towards the price of food
m
may not always be based upon experience, but rather perceptions of food prices.
e d
t
It was generally accepted that farmers might have to charge higher prices if they were
p
e
unable to grow, and sell, as much produce than if they sold their produce on a national
c
scale.
A c
Unexpectedly there were no major differences in how participants in low and high
socio-economic groups viewed local foods, even with regards to price. For
participants in higher SES groups, price still tended to be the deciding factor when
making purchasing decisions regarding food. Male participants tended to stress the
role of economies of scale in their discussions, as did participants older than 30 years
old. Women were more likely to describe the cost of food in terms of their own
shopping experiences. Participants living in more rural areas were less likely to talk
about the cost of food than those living in urban areas; however, they still agreed that
Lifestyle
notably time and convenience. Many participants felt that although it would be an
t
enjoyable and worthy experience to shop for local foods, they could not do this on a
p
routine basis due to lack of time and opportunity.
ri
s c
I shop in the supermarket because its convenient, but I do try to go to the
n
market in town [Female, low SES, children, urban, 53] u
a
m
Supermarkets were seen as beneficial in that they allowed people with limited time to
e d
shop quickly. Also participants in the 31-49 age group discussed the high quality
t
standards that were associated with supermarkets as being a positive. However,
p
e
whereas female participants emphasised the choice and convenience that
c
A c
supermarkets provided, some male participants expressed concerns over the perceived
power of supermarkets. Indeed, all groups were concerned that supermarkets were
...youre going into any big supermarket, and theyre just forcing everybody
Its a different lifestyle these days isnt it from what it used to be, you used to
have the time to go and do the local shopping as such, but now [Male, low
When I was a kid I would have fresh bread, and I always used to go to a
butcher, you know, a man who was cutting my steaks or whatever, and here
p t
i
you dont have that, everybodys on pre-packed and the butcher, the fresh
r
children 31] s c
butcher they have in the supermarket is just so limited [Female, high SES,
n u
a
Unsurprisingly, these opinions were most prevalent in older participants. Overall,
m
issues of convenience, tended to be raised more often by female participants. They
e d
discussed the problem of shopping for a large household and a lack of time, hence
t
being unlikely to buy local foods directly from a farm or market. Participants living
p
e
in both urban and rural areas felt that it was inconvenient to buy local foods on a
c
regular basis.
A c
Food Quality
Local should mean freshness. [Female, low SES, no children, urban, 67]
It was also generally believed that local foods were superior in terms of taste.
Improved taste was linked with seasonality and was particularly important in relation
apples.
p t
ri
s c
I think its nice, and I have to say that definitely if youre looking at say
strawberries, strawberries that are grown at home, you know, within June,
n u
have a totally different taste than something that you would buy from abroad
p t
season. Women were more likely to talk about local foods being both tastier and
e
fresher. All age groups felt that local foods were tastier and fresher, as did both urban
c
A c
and rural participants. Collectively, these findings were consistent with previous
Finally, during the discussions on local foods, organic foods were often mentioned.
However, most participants seemed to draw a clear distinction between the two,
despite the general consensus that organic and local foods shared some characteristics
have choice when they shopped. For example, whilst British strawberries tasted best
(available from May-July), there was also agreement that having the choice to eat
therell be other people that I know wholl say if I want to make strawberry
p t
rural, 38]
ri
s c
Choice and imported foods was also important in terms of those foods that could not
n u
be obtained locally or nationally, such as different varieties of fruit.
a
m
We wouldnt have bananas for starters if we didnt import veg. [Male, high
e d
SES, no children, urban, 23]
p t
Its just nice to have the choice, isnt it? [Female, low SES, children, urban,
53]
c e
A c
It was clear from these discussions that all participants valued the variety and year
Consumer Ethnocentrism
The enthusiasm for supporting British products generally was even greater than the
willingness to buy local produce. This not only meant that participants wanted to buy
more British products, but also that there were some countries whose products they
wished to avoid.
If we dont buy British, were putting our own people out of work. [Male, low
If I had a choice of two products that I knew one came from Britain and one
came from another country, Id buy Britishbecause you feel that youre
putting your own farmers out of business if you buy from another country
p t
[Female, low SES, children, urban, 38]
ri
s c
There were also countries such as France from which participants would not buy food.
n u
However, objections to French food were based upon political and cultural reasons
a
rather than a dislike of the taste, or concerns over the quality of produce. Political
m
issues, such as the banning of British beef during the BSE crisis, and the refusal of the
e d
French government to reform the Common Agricultural Policy, appeared to lie behind
t
participants resentment towards French products.
p
c e
A c
Im totally against the French anyway; I will not buy anything French
whatsoever. I hate the French, absolutely hate them. [Male, low SES, no
I think that at the moment in this country wed rather support the farmers in
Africa than the French, because the Frenchthey might want to take our
buy this when possible; however, male participants tended to be more aggressive
towards other countries (most notably France) in relation to country of origin. They
believed that buying British would help the economy too. Younger participants
discussed food origin in terms of helping poorer countries and fair trade products.
Older participants were more enthusiastic about British foods and more negative
p t
ri
Farmers
s c
The final theme to emerge from the focus groups was the need to support farmers in
n u
the local area. A number of participants made reference to this, and when possible,
t
from another country. [Female, low SES, children, urban, 38]
p
c e
A c
Interestingly though, there was also a degree of resentment towards farmers, with the
Theyre dead crafty these farmers I tell you. [Male, low SES, no children,
urban, 52].
You never see a poor farmer. They know every fiddle going to get money out
of the Government, they really do. [Male, low SES, no children, urban, 66].
Views about supporting local farmers, and resentment towards them, were expressed
almost exclusively by participants in the lower SES groups the only category where
such a clear difference emerged. Negative views towards farmers were also only
expressed by male participants. These negative views were also more likely to be
held by participants over the age of 50. Participants aged between 31-49 expressed
t
the most positive attitudes towards local farmers, believing it was good to support
p
them when possible.
ri
Discussion s c
n u
Across four focus groups, there was a preference for purchasing local or national
a
foods compared to imported alternatives. There was also a perception that local foods
m
were fresher and tastier than other foods. Despite this, the focus groups identified
e d
important barriers to purchasing local foods. These included price and inconvenient
t
lifestyles. In addition, the importance to participants of the choice provided by
p
e
imported products was also identified. Overall, national foods were viewed as being
c
A c
of a higher quality than imported foods, and cheaper than local foods, and were
differences between high versus low SES participants or between those living in
urban versus rural dwellings in terms of the way in which local foods were discussed.
Policy Implications
The Policy Commission on Food and Farming (2002) suggested that promoting local
foods may be one way to improve the sustainability of the UK food chain in terms of
economic, environmental and social gains. Moreover, the report expected that
consumers would be willing to pay more for products they perceived to have some
degree of added value. Although participants in the current study were generally
enthusiastic about local foods, there were a number of reported barriers, which meant
that consumers were unlikely (e.g., price, inconvenience, time) to increase the amount
p t
i
Overall, the results of the focus groups suggest that there is support for local foods
r
s c
from consumers, but not as added value products as envisaged by the Policy
Commission. Though consumers recognise that there are potential economic and
n u
social benefits in changing their purchasing behaviour, these benefits do not currently
a
overcome the barriers they have to face in order to achieve these changes.
m
e d
Therefore, in the absence of more effective marketing of local produce, at a policy
t
level it may be more realistic to promote national products rather than local products
p
e
per se. Participants identified strongly with these products and were enthusiastic about
c
A c
the quality of British products and supporting the British economy. There were fewer
perceived barriers to buying national foods, with these products freely available in
supermarkets.
Marketing implications
Given the strong preference reported by participants for products produced within the
distinctiveness from other areas. Stressing the potential benefits to the local economy
benefits of buying local produce for the local community as a whole rather than just
p t
i
These marketing strategies will lack major impact if they fail to take into account the
r
s c
barriers that exist in relation to the purchase of local foods, most specifically time and
cost. Until local producers, and government, can address these difficulties, perhaps
n u
through more regular and better publicised events, or even in conjunction with major
a
supermarket chains, local foods will continue to suffer by comparison. A surprising
m
finding was that participants in the current study were generally unaware that most
e d
supermarkets supply at least some local food products. For example, Tesco claim to
t
have 3000 local food lines in their stores, and Somerfield sells over 2000 locally
p
e
produced foods from small suppliers (CPRE, 2002). Thus, one short to medium term
c
A c
solution may be to petition supermarkets to offer better placement and marketing of
local products in relation to national and imported products to raise their profile in
consumers minds.
While the merits of using focus groups were discussed in a previous section, a
potential limitation of this methodology is that one or two participants can dominate
discussions. Furthermore, although considerable care was taken to encourage all focus
group members to contribute in the current study, a related problem is that more
focus groups were successful in terms of identifying many of the complex issues
involved in making food choices for local, national and imported products. Now that
the issues that consumers consider important have been determined, quantitative work
needs to be done with a larger, representative sample so that the results can be
p t
i
Finally, while the absence of an effect of socio-economic status on attitudes towards
r
s c
local produce may reflect an unexpectedly high level of agreement across these
different groupings it would be prudent to replicate this study with a sample drawn
t
(project: RES 224-25-0073). RELU is funded jointly by the Economic and Social
p
e
Research Council, the Biotechnology Sciences Research Council and the Natural
c
A c
Environment Research Council, with additional funding from the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Scottish Executive Environment and
Rural Affairs Department. The authors would like to thank Deborah Mortimer for
Boyle D, (2003). Authenticity: brands, fakes, spin and the lust for real life. London:
Flamingo.
London: Defra.
p t
ri
Distribution. s c
Groves, A. (2005). The local and regional food opportunity. Institute of Grocery
n u
a
Jones, A. (2002). An environmental assessment of food supply chains: a case study on
m
dessert apples. Environmental Management, 30(4), 560-576.
e d
t
La Trobe, H. (2001). Farmers markets: consuming local rural produce. International
p
e
Journal of Consumer Studies, 25(3), 181-192.
c
A c
Lee, R. (2000). Shelter from the storm? Geographies of regard in the words of
Marshall, D.W., & Anderson, A.S. (2000). Proper meals in transition: young married
Morgan (Ed.), Successful focus groups: advancing the state of the art (pp. 3-19).
NEF (2003). 50% of Britons want power curbs on supermarkets, 70% want to go
local. http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/m6_i235_news.aspx
Policy Commission on Farming and Food (2002). Farming & food: a sustainable
p t
Seyfang, G. (2004) Consuming values and contested cultures: a critical analysis of
ri
the UK strategy for sustainable consumption and production Review of Social
t
consumer: UK public perceptions of food, farming and buying local. Journal of
p
e
Rural Studies, 19, 233-244.
c
A c